Fun things to do Thanksgiving weekend

NEW YORK — Stuck at home Thanksgiving weekend? You don’t have to travel to New York’s Rockefeller Center to enjoy ice skating or see the Rockettes. Holiday train rides, Christmas shows, lighting displays and outdoor winter fun like ice skating and skiing all begin in late November in many localities. Here are some details.

RIDE TRAINS: Some 30 train rides themed on “The Polar Express,” the popular children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, are offered in more than 20 states. Venues include the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City, N.C., the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Ariz., and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Durango, Colo. New to the program this year is a rail line in Squamish, B.C., near Vancouver. (Besides Bryson City’s Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, other “Polar Express” cities within driving distance of Atlanta include Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera, Ala., south of Birmingham.) Schedules at www.polarexpressride.com.

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Roxanne Marshall/HO

Travel to Bryson City, N.C., for ‘The Polar Express’ with Santa and his helpers at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.

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About 300,000 people took “Polar Express” rides last year. The movie soundtrack is played over the train’s public address system, the story is read aloud, and hot chocolate is served en route to a lit-up “North Pole” where Santa awaits.

The trains start running mid-November, but most sell out well in advance. “Now is the time to book,” said Jon Schlegel, vice president and general manager of Rail Events, which licenses the program.

Many other excursion trains and tourist-oriented rail lines offer “Santa trains,” such as the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway in Ohio, and the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Wash.

Holiday-themed model train exhibits are also popular. Some take place in botanic gardens, like the 17th annual Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, Nov. 23 through Jan. 11, and The Golden Gate Express, new this year at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Nov. 20-April 19. Others take place in real train stations, like the one in Washington’s Union Station beginning Nov. 25, part of a “Norwegian Christmas” exhibit.

SEE HOLIDAY SHOWS: Can’t make it to New York to see the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Rockefeller Center? No worries. The Rockettes will be in Buffalo, N.Y., at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Nov. 13-30; in Chicago at the Rosemont Theatre, Nov. 20-Dec. 7; and in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry, Nov. 14-Dec. 28. Later in the season, the Rockettes play Cleveland’s Playhouse Square, Dec. 4-28, and the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Dec. 11-28.

New this year, an arena touring version of the Radio City show has been created for large venues and will play 18 cities, starting Nov. 7 in Minneapolis, and concluding Jan. 4 in Houston. This show will not be in any one city for more than a few days. Thanksgiving week it hits Dayton, Ohio’s Nutter Center Nov. 25-26, and Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena Nov. 28-30. (Also playing at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 12-14). Details at www.radiocitychristmas.com.

The Rockettes also kick the season off (literally) at the Opry in Nashville by taking part in a holiday lighting ceremony Nov. 13 launching a “Country Christmas” with more than a dozen shows and attractions, including outdoor Nativity scenes, 30,000 poinsettias and 2 million lights. The event draws nearly 1 million people each year.

“A Christmas Carol” haunts theaters around the country this time of year, like The Stage Theatre in Denver, starting Nov. 28; the Alley Theatre-Hubbard Stage in Houston, beginning Nov. 21; the Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis, beginning Nov. 15; and the Shubert Performing Arts Center, New Haven, Conn., Nov. 28-30.

TOUR LIGHT DISPLAYS: Some holiday displays don’t start until December, but a few light up in late November. Springfield, Mass., turns on the drive-through Bright Lights display in Forest Park Nov. 26. Arkansas offers a trail of holiday lights around the state in 64 communities, www.arkansas.com/things-to-do/trail-of-lights/. In Salt Lake City, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lights up Temple Square Nov. 28.

In Des Moines, Iowa, the city hosts a nighttime drive-through lighting display called “Jolly Holiday Lights” at Water Works Park, beginning Nov. 25. The Oglebay Resort & Conference Center in Wheeling, W.Va., hosts the Winter Festival of Lights Nov. 5-Jan. 4. In Houston, the Uptown Holiday Lighting begins Nov. 27 along Post Oak Boulevard.

A 100-foot fir tree at The Grove in Los Angeles is scheduled to be lit Nov. 23, decorated with 10,000 lights and 15,000 ornaments.

Many historic homes and hotels also arrange stupendous holiday displays. Christmas at the Biltmore, in Asheville, N.C., runs Nov. 7-Dec. 4. You don’t have to stay at the hotel to stroll the grounds and enjoy The Mission Inn’s renowned Festival of Lights, in Riverside, Calif., Nov. 28-Jan.4.

VENTURE OUTDOORS: Ice skating rinks often open in time for Thanksgiving weekend. Even in San Diego, where November temperatures may exceed 60 degrees, the outdoor Ice Arena plans to open Nov. 20.

A few ski resorts open earlier, like Loveland and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, which opened Oct. 15 with an 18-inch base of manufactured snow. But Thanksgiving represents the first big wave of skier and snowboarder visitation for most resorts where weather conditions permit. Last season, nearly 8 percent of visits nationally occurred before the Christmas holidays, according to the National Ski Areas Association.

Alta in Utah, beloved by skiers for its 1970s vibe, expects to open this year on Nov. 21. Killington Resort in Vermont aims to open Nov. 14. Aspen and Snowmass, Colo., expect to open Nov. 27.

But you don’t have to vacation at a destination resort to enjoy a day of skiing. Close to Atlanta, try the gentle slopes at Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, N.C., which opened Oct. 28.